S&OP in practice

Sales promises, operations sigh, finance calculates. S&OP is the consultation that creates one plan, if you do it well.

S&OP in practice, the two-day training of the Supply Value Academy, teaches supply chain and operations professionals to set up or improve a working Sales & Operations Planning cycle: from demand forecasting and capacity alignment to the monthly decision-making meeting. The training is based on S&OP implementations that the trainers themselves implement at manufacturing, retail, and logistics organizations.

Why this training

Almost every organization has something called S&OP. Much fewer organizations have an S&OP where real decisions are made, instead of a monthly scorecard where everyone continues to run their own plan.

In two days you learn what makes the difference: a tight process, honest figures, and a meeting where the right people cut through the right issues. You design your own S&OP cycle and test it directly in a simulation.

You can do this afterwards

  • You design an S&OP cycle that suits the size and maturity of your organization.
  • You bring together demand and supply in one set of figures that sales, operations and finance commit themselves to.
  • You lead the S&OP meeting so that decisions are made rather than presented.
  • You recognize the ten classic S&OP pitfalls and know how to avoid or fix them.

Target group

Supply chain managers, demand and supply planners, operations managers and sales leaders who want to introduce S&OP or pull it out of the doldrums. Also highly effective as a joint in-house launch with the entire S&OP team.

Previous experience: experience in a planning, operations or sales role; theoretical S&OP knowledge is not required.

Program

  • What S&OP brings when it works, and what you notice when it doesn't work
  • The cycle step by step: demand review, supply review, reconciliation, decision meeting
  • Forecasting without certainty: good enough is the new perfect
  • Design your own cycle: rolls, rhythm and rules of the game
  • The S&OP simulation: two full month cycles with real dilemmas and conflicting interests
  • Scenario thinking and the role of finance: from volumes to euros
  • Behavior and ownership: why S&OP is primarily a leadership issue
  • Your implementation plan for the first ninety days

Trainer

Rik Poulus

Your trainers implement S&OP in production and trading organizations and are themselves involved in monthly S&OP meetings with clients, under the leadership of Rik Poulus [verifying]. The simulation is built on their real-life case studies.

Frequently asked questions

That’s right. Most participants have a process that is faltering. In the training, you analyze where your cycle is stuck and go home with concrete repairs, from agenda design to behavioral agreements.

Yes. S&OP scales: in a small and medium-sized manufacturing company, it’s a tight five-person monthly meeting; it’s not a bureaucratic circus. You learn to tailor the cycle to your size.

Practical information

€ 1,395 p.p., excluding VAT

€ 3,950 per group per day (up to 8 participants; hall and catering provided by the client)

Duration
2 training days
Next date
3 March 2027
Location
Zeist (office), another location by arrangement, or in-house at your location
Training format
Open registration and in-house
Educational level
HBO/WO
Group size
Maximum of 12 participants
Study tax
Training days plus approximately 2 hours of preparation per day
Language
Dutch
Certificate
Certificate from the Supply Value Academy
Sector focus
Industry, retail & logistics
Bookability
Open registration according to the scheduled dates. Without scheduled dates, the training can only be booked in-house.
Included
Training material, certificate and lunch
Payment
Invoice immediately after registration; payment term 14 days

Prices exclude VAT · free cancellation up to 4 weeks in advance

Similar training sessions

Also interesting within Purchasing & tendering

Purchasing Black Belt

€ 6,995 per person.

Purchasing Green Belt

€ 4,995 per person.

Purchasing Yellow Belt

€ 3,495 p.p.

Start learning

Check the start dates and sign up.

Check out the next dates and sign up. Prefer to do it with the entire S&OP team at the same time? Then in-company is the logical way to go.

8,8

Participant quote: yet to be verified by marketing
Name
Function, organization
Would you like to know how our proven method works? Then sign up for our webinar below!

Plan a spendscan

60 minutes of intake + 5 working days of analysis + feedback. Free of charge and without obligation.

We will contact you within 1 working day to arrange an intake date.